A percussor is a medical device for supplying impulse forces to a patient's back or chest for the purpose of loosening and dislodging bronchial secretions in the lungs. The present invention is of a system of straps to allow a person to properly apply a percussor against his or her own back.
The type of percussor is based on the use of a solenoid in developing impulse forces for application to a patient's back or chest, A “solenoid”, as defined in the McGRAW-HILL, DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS, Fourth Edition, Sybil P. Parker, Editor in Chief, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, N.Y., 1989, is “a coil that surrounds a movable iron core which is pulled to a central position with respect to the coil when the coil is energized by sending current through it.”
An example of this type of percussor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,339 as a device which energizes a coil to develop an impulse force for application to a patient and utilizes a compressed spring to return the movable iron core to its rest position. The designs of percussors of this type are unnecessarily complicated and inflexible with respect to theft use in treating patients and the adjustment of the operating parameters of the devices.
The present invention avoids the complexities and inflexibilities of the prior art by utilizing a solenoid in a new and different way in generating impulse forces. The present invention utilizes the solenoid only for returning the movable iron core to its rest position. The patient-experienced impulse forces that result from the present invention are multiplied versions of the continuing force applied by a technician in using the invention.
By the nature of such a percussor and human physiology, it is extremely difficult for individual to self-apply a percussor to their own back. The present invention makes it possible for an individual to hold a percussor against his or her own back so as to properly apply the impacting force for the purpose of loosening and dislodging bronchial secretions in the lungs. The person can self-apply the percussor so as to not require the services of a technician in using the percussor.
Accordingly, there is a need for a self-applicator for an airway clearance device that addresses these needs. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.